


A Fluke

by MelodramaticMrTails



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Polyamory, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-01
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-02-07 00:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1878498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodramaticMrTails/pseuds/MelodramaticMrTails
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not a perfect system, it doesn't even always work, but when it does, it's amazing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Fluke

**Author's Note:**

> what's this? AH OT6 needs another super original soulmate fic you say? i'm here. [also at tumblr at themadkingsendshismilk]

Geoff and Jack meet through work friends.

They had worked for the same company for a while, but never very close. They knew one another's name, and could probably point the other out if someone had asked, but had never honestly met. Like similar sides of a magnet pushing at each other, they never got close.

Joel introduces them.

"Geoff, this is Jack." They stand in a hall, not far from the entry way and not far from either of the offices they work in but still relatively alone. It's too early not to be.

"I've heard some shit about you," Geoff says and the way he laughs is light hearted and friendly. He extends a hand to shake, casual and lazy. Jack takes it.

"Yeah," comes the laughter that joins. "Some of the guys won't shut up about you," he promises, fingers wrapped firmly in Geoff's. "Most of it good," he jokes.

They're aware they've been holding hands a touch too long, but there's comfort in the grip that says this is the place they need to be. Geoff's eyes drift downward. Jack doesn't want to let go. He, however, understands that he needs to at some point and carefully pulls away. Geoff won't let him.

Because soulmates aren't like magnets. They don't snap together with a spark as soon as they're close. They're like pennies, gravitating down the gently curved slope toward the same black hole.  Some of them only brushing paths.

Others colliding.

Slowly,  Geoff turns their hands, facing the backside of Jack's knuckles upward to show the birthmark on his skin. Joel is unusually quiet. Geoff only stares.

"Is something wrong?" Jack questions, the silence settling ill on his stomach. There is a moment when nobody moves like they know better. Like they can prevent the weather from happening. Then Geoff slowly rotates their hands to show the back of his.

And the same birthmark.

It sits on his skin in relief, like its been lifted out or soaked in bleach until only the unmistakable paper white pattern remained in his skin. If it hadn't been for Jack having the exact same mark, he would have thought it was just another tattoo.

"I-" Jack begins before he realises he doesn't know where that sentence ends. Joel stares on with knowledge that he can't comprehend. "No, I'm married," Jack says slowly, raising his other hand to show his ring.

Perhaps its not on paper and perhaps they don't recognize it legally, but they had said their bonds and made their promises and it was just as real as anything else,  legality be damned. Geoff raises his other hand as well, holding it alongside Jack's so all four of their hands hover between them.

"Me too," he says quietly.

"You don't understand," Jack insists. "I'm married to my soulmate." He had found his better half. He didn't hide his birthmark anymore because he had already found his missing piece. Years and years of hiding it, decades even, of Jack not even being sure if he wanted to be forced together with his soulmate and they had found each other anyways. They had fallen in love even before the birthmarks were involved. He didn't need to hide it anymore, didn't want to, public placement or not. He relished in the sight of seeing his lover's mark next to his and thanked fate or destiny or luck, or hell, coincidence that he had found someone he loved so much.

"Me too," Geoff repeats deliberately even as his hands shake.

The world falls down around them.

They have to meet, that much is a given, and they have to meet immediately. This isn't something they can hide, Geoff knows that better than Jack ever could. Before any words are exchanged, any comment on the situation, they make an agreement to have lunch; the four of them. It's hard to explain over text and even harder over the phone. Voices crack. Unsaid pleas hang in the air.

There's no guarantee by birth. You never sense your soulmate, you never know if they're there; if they've ever been there; if they're still there. It's not an absolute and many people with mismatching marks fall in love. Sometimes soulmates are simply platonic. Sometimes it's abusive. Finding a soulmate means a trust in something not seen and not touched to guide you. A gut feeling to follow when you make a choice or a coincidence you look into maybe a little too hard because you can't get it out of your head.

And if you let it, the strings will tighten and pull together those destined.

If you fight it, then you are free to control your own fate.

Some say either way, you win.

Others say no matter what you lose.

It's a little late for lunch, considering its six thirty in the afternoon and the sun is basically gone behind the Austin buildings. Still, calling it lunch is better than dinner. Dinner is for dating and this isn't that. And sure, they each consider of their own volition, maybe discussing this in public isn't the brightest of ideas. However, it's also mutually understood that meeting a soulmate, if that is actually what this is, can be very intense and more than one of them, all of them in fact, would admit to ravishing their destined lovers almost immediately.

That won't be happening tonight.

"Ryan, this is Geoff," Jack introduces his husband outside of the building they agreed to meet at. Perhaps they take up a little too much of the walkway, but no one says anything."Geoff, this is Ryan."

They shake hands and even in the hot Texas weather,  no one mentions Ryan's cotton gloves. He didn't used to hide his mark, never had, but meeting Jack had been one coincidence after another. It had been a full week before either of them realised they were destined and more than enough time for them to fall in love first.

"Good to meet you," Ryan smiles a charming smile he doesn't mean. He's nervous and he's scared and he doesn't want to do this. Still, the curiosity and natural instinct keep him here and Jack keeps him grounded.

"You too, man," Geoff replies, returning the smile lazily. He's more at ease with the situation,  if only minutely. His fate had not steered him wrong yet. "This is Gavin. Gavin, Jack."

"Hi!" Gavin shakes hands like he's a kid and standing among these grown men, he is. It's a little odd, of course, even knowing it's not altogether strange. He smiles broadly,  showing all the excitement that he doesn't feel. Geoff and he had already been through enough hard times as it was.

Ryan and Gavin exchange handshakes soon after. Gavin had never hidden his birthmark either and despite living on another bloody continent, he and Geoff were drawn together. They were drawn to the same convention, the same booth, same controller only to see their bound souls long before knowing the other's name. Tonight though, his stomach flips at the very idea of seeing the mark on anyone else. He also knows that hiding it won't change anything, no matter how much he wants it too.

"Ah! Gloves! Probably a good idea," he comments and Ryan pulls his hand away a little too quick. He's never been ashamed of his mark before and the focus on it maims him with guilt.

"Gavin," Geoff sighs with some heft.

"Whot?" It's not a malicious statement at any rate and Ryan realises it.

"Let's just go inside already, " Geoff insist. "It's getting cold as dicks out here and I need a drink."

"Yeah," Jack agrees. The four of them head inside and take up a table in the back, a fair amount of space between them and any other patrons. Drinks are ordered before anything else.

Geoff is the first to move. He places his hand palm down on the table for everyone to see his mark. He knows Gavin doesn't believe it, doesn't want to, because neither had he. Ryan follows his lead, removing his gloves and shoving them in his pocket before resting his hand beside Geoff's. They match perfectly. The shape, the size, the colour.

Jack feels the same tug at his heart that Gavin does. Sure, Jack already knew he and Geoff sported the same marks and therefore Ryan had too as well, but there was something about seeing his lover bound with another that makes him want to curl in on himself. It's like he's losing Ryan in the most painful way. When he places his hand with theirs, it changes.

Seeing his hand with theirs changes despair to uncertainty. He's not losing Ryan, he's gaining Geoff. For a man who had never really wanted to do this whole 'soulmate' thing in the first place, it's weird. Unfavorable even.

Gavin joins last and there's no refuting it. They're the same.

"It's entirely possible it's platonic," Ryan says after a moment. No one moves their hand and no one touches anyone else.

"I've never heard of half platonic soulmates," Gavin is quick to argue.

"You'd be surprised," he murmurs back. The universe could be a dick and if it could pair together the most loving people with the most cruel, then it could definitely pair together two people who don't love each other in the same way. It was sad and it was heartbreaking for everyone involved but it is not this.

Jack knew that as soon as he met Geoff and his heart had settled in a way it only did with Ryan. Perhaps it was only a placebo, the social norm of knowing he should love his soulmate regardless, but acknowledging that didn't make it go away.

"Never heard of fours, either," Geoff points out, though whether he means to argue with or against Gavin is a mystery even to himself.

"That doesn't mean it's not there," Ryan says and Jack is sure he means to make his point by bringing up some kernel of knowledge no one's ever heard of. He doesn't.

Pairs are the most typical, of course, and trios have been known but like expecting mothers, quadruples earns an unwanted amount of attention. This, of course, will be kept between the four of them. It's not a glorious love story for the ages; it's a circumstantial tragedy.

Geoff downs his beer and calls to the nearest server for another. Jack, for a moment, tries steer the conversation to something more upbeat. They will have to discuss what they're going to do about all this, but not until at least half of them are smashed; all of them being preferred.

"So, how'd you two meet?" The reply to this is Geoff calling 'actually make that two beers'. Jack wonders if perhaps this wasn't the safest of topics after all.

"A gaming convention, wouldn't you believe," Gavin says enthusiastically. Both Jack and Ryan are certain Gavin is intentionally leaving out the bad parts by the way Geoff had reacted so poorly at the very idea. They are grateful for it. "And a bloody top one at that. It was my first trip over here, hardly seventeen, and we both reached for this god awful demo game."

Geoff rubs his temples a bit, but no one says anything. There's no judging here. The age difference is just another unfortunate flaw in the grand master plan of the universe.

"It was platonic," Geoff says when no one was going to say anything else. "I was married." Gavin's smile fads a bit, knowing he wasn't going to mention that part. The rest of the story is unneeded, the outcome of Gavin and Geoff just sitting here, together, speaks volumes. And dooms any chance of any of them being platonic.

"Ryan and I met in a home improvement store," Jack notes. Ryan laughs a little, trying to ease the mood if only slightly. They met on much better circumstances than the others and it makes Jack wonder if it's polite to tell the story.

"Jack knocked me the fuck out with a two by ten," Ryan explains with an amused noise. Gavin, and more importantly Geoff, both laugh.

"To be fair, you managed to walk up on me right as I was turning around. I'd never seen you until you were on the ground," Jack explains. It's not a story that gets told often.

"We had a few dates," Ryan goes on. Parts of this story go unheard as well, but they are small parts of little relevance that other people don't need to hear. "It wasn't until at least a week later that either of us realised we had the same mark."

Things had escalated because while Jack hadn't liked the idea of soulmates, he had liked Ryan and that was enough. This only serves as a reminder that maybe it won’t be that bad afterall. Even if it is, he’ll still have Ryan, right? Jack considers his next words carefully.

“I was engaged at the time,” he admits. “It didn’t end how I wanted it to.”

There was no grey area in the universe. If you were going to fight it, then you had to fight it with everything you had. If you were indifferent, the thought of soulmates nothing more than a sour taste like salt and vinegar on your tongue, then it would drag you under before you ever realised. Even understanding ex’s don’t lift the guilt sometimes.

Geoff seems to appreciate the effort.

The four of them move on to discussing anything beside the fact that they’re meant to be in one way or another. This only makes it far more obvious between the excessive discussion of video games and the realization that it’s so easy to talk to one another. After a few drinks, numbers are exchanged. Whether it’s decided to give things a try or not, there’s no way they could avoid each other now.

It’s a long night of drinking, sub par food, and bad jokes that makes Jack think this could actually work. He’s not sure when he decided that he was willing to give it a try, but maybe that’s exactly why he should.

\- x-

Gavin doesn’t ‘meet’ Ray, per say.

Geoff had pitched an idea for the three of them, pending their ability to convince Ryan to join them, to begin producing gaming content. As good of an idea as it was, between the three of them there was something lacking. Something aside the stubborn Ryan.

Interviews go poorly. They go so poorly that Geoff had to begin starting them with ‘three soulmates’. The discomfort that almost always follows is enough for Geoff to flat out turn them away. If the four of them will be having to work closely with someone, it was vital that there wasn’t any bad feelings between them and whoever he brought in.

It’s Gavin’s laughing that gets Jack’s attention.

“What are you watching?” he questions, coming upon Gavin’s desk curiously. Gavin looks up at him for a moment before quickly pausing the video and shoving his headphones off. He moves over a little so Jack can pull up a chair beside him.

“This lad on youtube. He’s bloody top. Listen!” Gavin insists, pulling his headphones free to let the audio come from the speakers. Jack settles beside him curiously as he presses play once more.

“Fuck! God dammit! What the fuck!” The yelling is immediately. The side scroller on the screen doesn’t look particularly difficult, but watching him run through the same section several times proves this to be false. The screen in screen shows the owner of the voice and all his frustration and hate for the game he’s playing. He sets his controller down for a moment and rubs his temples in his hands. Gavin’s right; this is great. “Who makes these things? Who sits down and says let’s make the more hordenus game ever. Look at this fucking thing! What the fuck is that! Who fucking plays these things!”

Once again he picks up the controller only to smash it against the table moments later. The sound seems to get the attention of another that wanders into frame behind the angry young man which suddenly makes him a lot less angry.

“Thas my bae,” he says, pointing at the other man pleasantly. “Hey.”

“Sup,” he replies, peering over the other’s shoulder for a moment before moving on and out of frame. The first goes back to playing but it only takes a few minutes for him to rage quit, dropping the controller and storming out of the room in a fit. There’s a beat of silence where the video doesn’t end before his boyfriend takes his place.

He fiddles with the controls for a moment, getting a feel for them, before realising that he’s being recorded and glancing absently into the camera. He grins.

“More like Ray quit, am I right?”

“I fucking heard that Ray!”

Ray laughs a little, but his focus returns to the game immediately. Though it shows to be somewhat difficult, there’s a rhythm to it that the other man simply couldn’t grasp. He finished the level within a few minutes.

Jack sees it at the same times Gavin does.

“Puerto Rican out!”

He raises one hand to make a peace sign before quickly thinking better of it and yanking it out of frame. It’s too late for that, obviously, and the white mark on his hand, even in the low quality video, has already been seen. It’s probably nothing. The video ends.

“Was that-?” Jack questions slowly.

“No,” Gavin insists immediately. Even with that said, he quickly scrolls down to copy the name, Michael Jones, and paste it into Facebook. While his profile is almost entirely private, the site is quick to direct them to his boyfriend’s page, Ray Narvaez Jr. His page is significantly less private. Jack doesn’t say anything while Gavin strays over the page.

Relationship: Soulmates with Michael Jones.

Gavin scrolls through a few pictures, many of them featuring the two mates. While Michael clearly does everything to hide his mark, from wearing sweaters with sleeves just a little too long to a single fingerless glove, Ray doesn’t bother. Any picture with his hands visible make the mark visible as well.

“What do we do?” Jack asks. Gavin doesn’t offer a reply. They have to tell Geoff and Ryan, of course, but what about Ray and Michael? They probably wouldn’t even believe it. Gavin certainly hadn’t. He finds himself add Ray as a friend anyways, expecting little. “I’m going to go talk to Geoff,” Jack murmurs.

The sound of a message coming through anchors him in place. It was like Ray had just been waiting around. Hell, for all they knew, he had probably chosen that exact moment to check Facebook.

 

Ray Narvaez Jr:

> Hey.

Gavin Free:

> Hi.
> 
>  

There’s a little symbol of typing, then erasing, then more typing. Gavin and Jack wait on baited breath.

 

Ray Narvaez Jr:

> I like your tattoo.
> 
>  

Like Ray, Gavin made no attempt to hide his birthmark. It probably wasn’t particularly difficult for him to spot over his profile. Granted, he had never assumed anything like this would happen. This is unimaginable. Surely there had to be a mistake.

 

Gavin Free:

> I like your bloody soulmar
> 
>  

Jack hits him in the arm quickly.

“Don’t say that,” he insists immediately and Gavin presses down on the backspace.

“Well what the bloody hell am I supposed to say? Hi! My name’s Gavin Free and we’re bound to be together! But don’t worry! My boyfriends will love you!” Gavin says sarcastically.

“We don’t know that yet,” Jack assures him. The video was shitty quality and pictures aren’t proof. Maybe it really is a tattoo. Looking on it, it’s not as if their birthmarks are shockingly unlike an Xbox d-pad. It could be coincidence. “Just say anything else.”

 

Gavin Free:

> I like yours.
> 
>  

“Smooth,” Jack scoffs. Gavin shrugs animatedly. For a long minute, Ray doesn’t reply and nothing happens. There’s no way this is a mistake.

 

Ray Narvaez Jr:

> I don’t have any tattoos.

Gavin Free:

> Me either.
> 
>  

“Give me that,” Jack says blandly, rolling Gavin out of the way of the keyboard to manage the situation.

“Aye!”

 

Gavin Free:

> I saw you in that video with Michael. It was tippers!
> 
>  

“Hey, I’ve never said that,” Gavin says quickly, reaching for the keyboard again. Jack holds him at bay with one arm easily.

“There is literally hours of video proving otherwise, Gavin,” Jack promises.

 

Ray Narvaez Jr:

> Thanks?

Gavin Free:

> So you and Michael are soulmates?
> 
>  

Ray goes offline immediately.

“Smooth,” Gavin repeats pointedly.

“Shit,” Jack sighs. “That could have gone better.” He could imagine it could anyways, even if that’s probably not true. There’s probably an explanation here but the concern is that the explanation is that the five of you, minimum, are soulmates. Maybe Michael hides his because he doesn’t want people to judge him or Ray for not being bound. Or maybe he hides it because he doesn’t want anything to do with this.

It can’t be argued that the two of them look happy together and it certainly isn’t their place to try to mess with that. However, Ray and Michael deserve to know, don’t they?

Gavin doesn’t hear anything more from Ray for the rest of the day. Not that he expects to hear anything at all, quite honestly. He doesn’t blame Ray for that. He stills remembers Geoff trying to explain that he had met a man at work with the same birthmark as him. Gavin had initially assumed it was some kind of joke, admittedly a cruel one, and even when seeing it for himself he had been fairly determined to find some kind of difference between them. There were billions of different marks, there had to be some shockingly similar, right?

As this faded, so did the unsaid ‘you’ll still love me right’ and the ‘does this mean your leaving’s. Gavin had never really thought he would be too bothered if Geoff decided this wouldn’t work, but he had obviously been proven wrong. It hadn’t been as weird as he thought it would be to accept Jack and Ryan into his life, either.

It’s not that he had been missing anything before, he’d never been incomplete without Geoff either, but there’s just something distinctly different about the way they fit together. Not to mention four heads, and eight hands, were better than one. Admittedly, since Jack and Ryan had showed up, he and Geoff had done significantly less dumb shit over the weeks. Unfortunately, some of those lesser things were in bigger magnitudes. That extra forty dollars on a bet really makes it worth it.

It’s not until a little after one in the morning that he gets another message.

Gavin, being at least slightly awake due to a conversation with someone halfway around the world, is awake to receive it. This, perhaps, wasn’t Ray’s intention.

Ray Narvaez Jr:

> Sorry bout earlier. Send me a text later yeah?
> 
>  

He sends his number over afterword. Gavin debates it for a moment. It’s fairly early in the morning, after all. The soft vibrating of his mobile after each message doesn’t awaken any of the others, Ryan’s arm still draped over his stomach and snoring quietly into the pillows. He decides that a few minutes is, in fact, later. It takes several more minutes to decide exactly what to send.

> Hey, it’s Gavin.

Nailed it.

> Oh geeze. I didn’t expect you to be awake.

It’s one in the morning, he shouldn’t be awake. He probably should have waited. Though Geoff and Ryan had agreed that if this was happening, again, then it was up to Ray if he wanted anything to do with them. They would welcome him and Michael, regardless of whether he shared their marks or not, with open arms.

> Coincidence.

Gavin realise this doesn’t sound as sarcastic as he means it to be. He also realise there’s no way Ray would understand that this is a joke on Jack’s belief that everything is a coincidence.

> Lol right.
> 
> Why are you awake?
> 
> Couldn’t sleep. Playing video games.
> 
> Oh. Because of us?

When Gavin says ‘us’, it’s automatic. He and Geoff and Jack and Ryan are an us. It’s not until Ray answers that he remembers that Ray probably doesn’t know that and assumes that he means the two of them. Or maybe he doesn’t. Gavin doesn’t actually recall whether or not he’s updated his facebook ever. Geoff should be on there at least, right? He decides to check later and update it. Ray doesn’t respond for a touch longer than previously, but there’s no way for Gavin to know if this is because of him.

> Sort of.

Carefully, Gavin removes Ryan’s arm from across him, not waking the man in the process, and slides out of his warm bed. He slips out of their combined room and closes the door behind him without a sound. The three of them had never been the lightest of sleepers despite the insomnia that could plague Ryan on occasion. It’s unfortunately cold in the rest of the house, but Gavin sets up his Xbox and settles on the couch to warm back up.

> I’ll play with you. GavinoFree.
> 
> Brownman.

It doesn’t take long for Gavin to navigate through several screens and texts to join a relatively empty game with Ray. Immediately, Gavin’s fairly glad that they’re on the same team. Obviously that wasn’t only that game Ray was good at. After a few rounds of silence, he speaks.

“Sorry,” Ray murmurs quietly over the mic. “I don’t want to wake up Michael.”

“Did you tell him?” Gavin questions tactlessly. It went well earlier so obviously it’s going to go well now. He’s reminded that he probably doesn’t want to wake up the others, either.

“I mentioned it,” Ray says. “I don’t think he thought I was serious. He was tired.” Why would he? ‘Some guy messages me and said he had the same birthmark as me’. It sounds like one of those bad dating site ads.

“What does he do?”

“Like an electrician slash repair man,” Ray explains. His character on screen doesn’t move for a moment. “He works a lot. It would probably help if I wasn’t super unemployed.” Gavin’s breath hitches in his throat a little. Ray is fantastic at games and Michael is bloody hilarious. Coincidence his ass. “Anyways, what about you?”

“I play video games for a living,” Gavin says and it’s absolutely to lure Ray in. Ray laughs quietly.

“Are you one of those beta players or something?” he asks.

“Ever heard of Red versus Blue?”

“Sounds familiar,” he murmurs. There goes his awesome flirting attempt.

“What about Slo Mo Guys?”

“Oh, with that Dan guy? I love that guy.”

“Godammit Ray.”

They spend the rest of the morning chatting and gaming because while Gavin had accepted the idea of his soulmate, he had never really put his faith in it. He had let his gut guide him and gave it an attempt when it came up and even gave it credit when it actually worked out. Ray, in contrast, put his belief into it entirely. He was one of those people that browsed soulmark websites idly in hopes of seeing something familiar and slyfully checked hands in crowds.

He was the one that put all he had into his lover.

And received just as much in return.

So there were six of them; Gavin, Geoff, Ryan, Jack, Ray and Michael. That has to be a world record of some sort.

Ray is more than happy to chat with the rest of them as well, having long chats with them individually and as little groups, and wistfully believes the very notion of six people sharing bonds. The pictures exchanged are received in good will with no one really considering the idea of faking it because in all honestly, they could feel it. There was a pull that demanded they be together.

Michael, however, wanted nothing to do with them. If it wasn’t evident by the way he didn’t so much as speak to them directly, the background noises of phone calls with Ray was more than enough. The quiet ‘what are you doing’ ‘talking to the guys’ ‘gross’ conversations. Even how he’ll walk in on a skype video chat and immediately take his leave.

These things aside, he doesn’t make any mention on trying to restrict Ray’s contact with them. As far as Ryan knows, who by far has had the most contact with Ray, Michael has assured Ray he’s free to do what he wants but he, personally, is uninterested. ‘Uninterested’ may be putting it tamely.

Still, this can only go on so long and when Ray mentions taking a trip down to Austin, Michael is quick to assure him that there’s no way he’s going down there by himself to meet a bunch of possible psychopaths.

\- x-

Ryan meets Michael at two am.

He looks exhausted and furthermore, entirely unhappy. This is no way surprising knowing what Ryan does about the almost but not quite red head. Due to Ryan’s latest round of late night insomnia, likely brought on by the idea of Ray’s visit honestly, he had elected to pick the pair of them up at the airport. Late night flights were cheaper than day ones and didn’t interfere with work as much. After all, beside finally meeting the fifth and sixth member of their relationship fucked sideways by the universe, it was absolutely their goal to convince the pair of them to move here and work with them.

Ray had kept him up to date on their activity the entire time, snapchatting dumb pictures and assuring their safety in changeovers. Though Ryan was the only one awake throughout the entire night, he was sure the others would have appreciated the effort.

So when Michael appears in the baggage claim without Ray, Ryan is more curious than worried. Michael approaches him immediately. Ryan knows well what Michael looks like and despite the other’s attitude towards them, he’s sure the opposite is also true.

“Morning,” he greets happily, but quietly. Now would not be the time to unnecessarily aggravate his reluctant soulmate. Tired people do dumb things. Living in a house with a drunk and an insomniac teaches one these things. Of course, Ryan wishes to hug him above all else, but even if Michael was wide awake, that seems like a very poor idea. “Where’s Ray?”

“He had to take a leak, okay?” is the aggressive reply. Michael is not happy to be here. Ryan knew that long before he got here. Still, he offers his hand to shake. Surprisingly, though perhaps Ryan shouldn’t be all that surprised because Michael isn’t, in fact, an unmannered street boy, Michael shakes it.

“Can I help you with your luggage?”

“Whatever.”

He’s really cute when he’s tired, not that Ryan didn’t already know this. Before the baggage has time to be unloaded, Ray appears at the exit just as tired looking as Michael. He glances around for a moment before catching sight of Michael and subsequently Ryan. Immediately, he hurries over, and while he’s excited, it’s also obvious he’s nervous.

Without hesitation, Ray hugs Ryan firmly and it’s like it’s where he belongs. Ray feels it. Ryan feels it.

And Michael feels it.

“Wow, it’s good to meet you, man,” Ray says when they let go. Michael acts as though he hasn’t seen anything. The third goal of this visit is to get Michael to at least like them. Failing that, acknowledging them would also be nice. Ryan is a little more reluctant to let go.

“Yeah, you too,” he smiles.

“Hey, dickheads, if you’re done, there go our bags,” Michael points out, staring at Ryan pointedly and only Ryan. While he offers to take one of their bags, they both refuse. It’s a short trip and neither soulmate had packed heavy for it. That being said, Ryan is fairly sure that the second bag Michael carries, making three between them, is the only with their gaming equipment in it if the way Michael automatically pulls it out of reach is any sign.

Ryan doesn’t push it at all, considering they’re both grown men and it’s not as if they’re heavy. He leads them out to his car parked at the entrance in the mass of cars that, while being emptier than usual, is still pretty busy. With some pushing and shoving, they manage two bags into the trunk and one shoved into the backseat with Ray and Michael. They two of them fall asleep on the way home.

It’s a relatively short trip, admittedly a shorter one than taking them to Geoff and Gavin’s house, but enough to give them a bit of a rest before having to move into the house. They’re awaken easily with a nudge and promise of a bed. While Ray is perfectly content with leaving the bags in the car, Michael makes a half hearted attempt to at least grab one. Ryan leads them inside to the spare bedroom before carting the remain two bags in for them, leaving them outside the bedroom door.

Unfortunately, none of this means Ryan can sleep yet. Maybe the insomnia was just normal ol insomnia after all. Granted, it also probably doesn’t help that he’s alone tonight. There’s no enough room at Geoff’s for six of them and though Jack and Gavin had suggested to come along, they were both asleep long before it was time to go. Geoff, knowing he’d never stand a chance being awake and sober that long, didn’t even need to offer.

It’s hardly an hour before he’s in the kitchen looking for coffee and a clean spot to put his laptop down. His and Jack’s home isn’t necessarily dirty, just cluttered. Gavin and Geoff’s addition to their family had made it more cluttered over what short time they were together. Many ‘I’ll rest this here for a moments’ piling into items that never got moved but weren’t junk or trash. Mugs that just didn’t reach the cabinets or gaming paraphernalia that didn’t really have a designated place.

Michael joins him.

“What the fuck dude? Why the hell are you awake?” he asks and even though he’s had a little bit of sleep, it only seems to have made him look worse.

“Why are you?” Ryan retorts pointedly. Michael grumbles and shrugs but an audible reply isn’t given. He sits down at the table along side him, grasping his head in one hand and yawning tiredly. Even now, he keeps his hand covered entirely. Ryan had met people like this before, Jack had been one of those people before, and while he continued to find it unfortunate, he doesn’t make any comment on it. Soulmates or not, it’s Michael’s, and only Michael’s, business.

“Do you live here by yourself or something?” Michael questions, slowly resting his head on his arms on the table. It’s a step up from not speaking to him at all, Ryan thinks.

“Jack and I usually stay with Geoff and Gavin,” Ryan explains. “It’s closer to the office.” Michael laughs.

“You and Jack? The one that sounds just like you? Should have seen that coming. Man, I thought it was like you with the british guy and tattoos with beard,” he says, somewhat amused. To some extend, it seems he was paying attention.

“Gavin, Geoff, and Jack, in order,” Ryan points out. “And I’m Ryan.” But he somehow thinks Michael actually knows that even as he shrugs like he doesn’t care. “Ray talks about us a lot?”

“No,” Michael scoffs. “I don’t want to hear about that shit.” From the moment Ray had mentioned finding someone with his birthmark, Michael had reasonably wanted nothing to do with any of this. The universe sucked. The room slips into silence as Ryan focuses on his work again. Michael returns to the guest room eventually and the night is quiet.

Morning comes sooner than Ryan expects it to. While he’s sure to take his shower before the boys awaken, the two lovers hold off until the last minute to stir from their sleep and shower together.

The car ride to the office and more talkative than the one last night with Ray perched in the front seat and Michael in the back. Though the conversation is mostly held over idle topics like the state of the office and the people there, Michael contributes even to the soulmate bits. It’s not altogether bitter or angry, either. Just comments here and there with the same underlined concern that Ryan had once felt.

Ray greets the others with just as much enthusiasm as he had Ryan, though admittedly he’s more awake now. It shouldn’t have needed to be said that hugs were appropriate and anything past that wasn’t. Of course, then there’s Gavin.

Without hesitation, Gavin kisses Ray full on the mouth in the middle of the office and there’s a moment afterward where no one moves. As it stands, Michael says nothing. Ray laughs, though.

“Wow, forward much?” he jokes but they can feel the anxiety melt off him. It’s easy because he belongs here and he knows it. This is where they all belong.

“Anymore forward and you’re going to gouge Ray’s eye out with that massive fucking honker,” Michael says. Gavin looks faux offended. Clearly not satisfied with his first stupid action, he immediately moves to take another. Michael responds to the hug about as well as anyone thought he would, shoving Gavin away from him as soon as he realised what was happening. “Hey, fuck off!”

Much like the way Michael says nothing about Ray’s interaction with them, Ray makes no mention of Michael’s reaction. Ryan understands their relationship a little bit more.

They fit in perfectly. So perfectly that the first order of business almost immediately turns into watch and record Ray getting two veteran level difficulty achievements in under two hours. His gamerscore is not a joke, that much is obvious. It’s quick to wind down to sitting around chatting over co-op games, though. Everyone’s tired and to finally be able to sit around with Ray and Michael is soothing at least.

It’s not until a little before lunch that Ryan mentions Michael has been gone a while. He’s seen the man leave and noticed his prolonged absence, but if there was anything Michael needed, it was space.

“Someone should probably go check on Michael. Make sure he isn’t lost or something.” Ryan says and though he directs it to Geoff, Ray answers automatically.

“He’s talking with, uh, Lindsay I think?” Ray assures him.

“Those two of really hit it off,” Geoff chuckles. “Maybe we’ll convince you two to move here after all.” They were a packaged deal, after all, and no one would have it any other way. Ray avoids acknowledging the comment, moving on to something else.

“What are we doing for lunch? I’m hungreh,” he says. It’s taken as a sign to not bright the topic up again.

“Oh man there’s this place with the best bevs,” Gavin states gladly, spinning in his chair to face away from the screen. Getting drunk, always a top priority.

“I don’t drink?” Ray replies like he’s trying to remember if he’s ever told them or not. The universe has to have some sort of auto balancing system in play which is amusing in theory.

“What!” Gavin squawks. “Seriously?”

“The food’s actually pretty good,” Jack assures him, ignoring Gavin’s unappreciated judgement. “Are we calling it a day, then?”

“Yeeah, let’s pack it up,” Geoff agrees. A full day had never really been an option. Given the choice, they’d probably spend the entire trip sitting around drinking and talking. The reality is, however, that meeting a soulmate is intense and opting to stay sober with Ray had be one of Ryan’s worse ideas.

Michael finds out immediately, there was no thought that he wouldn’t, but his reaction is surprising. Things begin to fall apart.

“What the fuck!” Michael comes at Ryan hard in the kitchen, every intention of starting a physical alteration given the chance. Fortunately or not, he is not given the chance to strike first, Geoff grabbing him and holding him back before it can come to that. “What’s your fucking problem!”

With four hungover men, the shouting sounds so much worse than it actually is. Geoff realises his mistake almost at once, sliding slowly across the gripless floor as Michael continues to try to move forward. He is a lot stronger than previously assumed.

“Jack! Help me!”

“Get off!”

“Michael,” Ray insists, coming down the hall as he tries to pull his shirt on. Ryan doesn’t move and he doesn’t speak. He doesn’t want to fight but he doesn’t have any words to prevent a fight, either. “It’s not Ryan’s fault.”

“Bullshit!” Michael snaps back. “It’s both of your fucking faults! Don’t give me that shit!” Geoff holds him firmly, but it’s unmistakable even now how Michael just fits. Jack tactfully stands at Ryan’s side, ready to act as a second defense if Geoff is unable. As Michael flares out, though, he limpens slightly. Ray remains out of the way.

“Hey, we’re all soulmates here,” Gavin says, yawning tiredly as he slinks into the kitchen and weaves between the steady pieces to find coffee. “Can we stop with the yelling? My head’s bloody killing me.”

Michael shrugs Geoff off violently and Geoff let’s him go cautiously. If he had wanted to fight, he doesn’t anymore and he storms out of the house without another word. Ray ruffles his hair in both hands.

“Ryan,” Gavin sighs. “Wasn’t it your stupid rule that we put off on wooing them?”

“Technically-” Ryan begins.

“No! No technicals,” Geoff cuts him off. “Look, I know shit happens, but come on Ryan.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” is the short reply. It wasn’t just Ray and Michael anymore. Ryan, like Ray, wanted nothing more than to give everything to his soulmate. Just like he did with Jack and just as he had done with Geoff and Gavin. Just as he wanted with Ray and Michael. But while Michael was closed off, Ray wasn’t. Ray wanted the same thing Ryan did. It was naturally reactive situation.

“You better say something to Michael,” Geoff points out sharply.

“Just let him hit you,” Gavin shrugs pointedly. “One, two, you’re all even, everything’s fine.”

“No,” Jack says blandly. “That’s not a solution.”

The solution, unfortunately, is Michael calming himself down. It’s anticlimactic if anything and leaves the other with uneasy feelings. The small ‘don’t worry about it’ and forced interactions were enough. As the trip draws on, Ray only seems to be more stressed in contrast to Michael’s lightening mood. The only hint to Ray’s poor mood is a small comment under a loud movie mumbled into Jack’s chest.

“I don’t want to lose him.”

It’s not exactly how they wanted the trip to go.

But Michael fits. The way he bickers with Gavin until it dwindles into something even dumber than what they started with. How he and Geoff share a ridiculous fondness for bad telly and even worse humor. The idea of either of them leaving is equally unpleasant and when he’s sure that it won’t be immediately refused, Geoff reminds Ray and Michael both that there is a place for them here. And to hurry because if Gavin ruins one more co-op achievement, he might actually go out the window.

The day before they prepare to fly back home, the lot of them get drunk once again. This time, of course, Ryan is not allowed to remain the sober one for good reason. In the end, Ray is asleep on the couch long before the night is out. Between the excitement, and underlined stress, the trip overall was exhausting. Michael isn’t far behind him, the pair of them sitting side by side tiredly; Ray curled up and Michael stretched out.

“Hey, look,” Gavin says in a hushed tone. Like tired people, drunk people also do stupid things. He points to Michael’s hand, the limp limb laid out on the armrest in full view.

“Gavin,” Jack is quick to argue, but he’s sure not to raise his voice enough to stir either lad. “Don’t.” He makes no move to physical stop Gavin as the Brit carefully picks at Michael’s glove, trying to pull it off without waking him.

“Nah, let him get knocked the fuck out,” Geoff waves him off idly, adjusting himself to view the sight. No one makes any further movement to encourage or stop him. Gavin, fairly drunk and not as nearly coordinated as he thinks he is, painstakingly tugs the glove off, eyes flickering up to make sure Michael remains asleep the whole time.

He is suddenly very sober.

“There’s nothing here.” It’s an unnecessary comment; they can all plainly see that. Michael breaths heavily out his nose and shifts a bit but no one can find it in themselves to move. There’s probably a good explanation for this, after all. Michael’s pretty pale, it’s probably just not easily visible. It’s not entirely uncommon for birthmarks to be hidden from sight or even tan away. Seemingly aware that he is under scrutiny, Michael awakens.

It’s slow at first, still being fairly drunk and now tired, but the realisation is all at once. Michael yanks his hand away, snatching his glove out of Gavin’s hand and rousing Ray in his movement. As he pulls it back on, he organizes his words through the haze of his drunkenness.

“What the fuck!” he shouts, assuring Ray’s consciousness. “The fuck do you think you’re doing!” Nearly an entire week of pleasantries disappear in a moment. No one knows what to say. Ray comes to with a lazy yawn, shifting himself to see what’s happening.

“Michael?”

“What happened to your birthmark, Michael?” Jack asks quietly.

“What?” is the faded reply.

“Your birthmark,” Gavin repeats, pointing to his own hand. “Where is it?” The room falls to silence. Michael’s searching for an excuse, his eyes flickering nervously over the four of them watching him so closely. This was a recipe for disaster.

“He,” Ray answers instead. “Doesn’t have it.”

“But you said-” Gavin says, words tripping over each other to get out of his mouth.

“Nothing, technically,” Ryan is quick to point out.

“But-” continues the argument.

“Stop talking, Gavin,” Geoff deadpans, grabbing a handful of Gavin’s shirt to pull him away. Jack and Ryan return to watching television, having nothing more to say on the matter. There isn’t anything more to say.

“That’s it?” Michael questions suspiciously and sharply, as if expecting a sudden change or rebuttal. Ray is uncertain as well.

“That’s it,” Geoff agrees.

Michael sleeps a little easier at night.

\- x-

“Please tell me that’s all of it,” Geoff groans, dropping a box with all the overs in the middle of the living room. Most of them were still sealed up tight, but a few had already been ripped open and stuffed dragged out of them in search for something poorly put away. Ray, in particular, sits on the floor digging through one and scattering mugs and cups on the floor around him.

“Yeah, I think that’s all,” Jack assures him with an amused laugh. He sets the box he carries down a little more carefully. Not all of them are labeled and while it was fairly easy to tell what was in each of them with a lift or slight shake, there was also an entire box of broken plates. Fortunately, that seemed to be the only one as of now.

“Why do we have so much shit, anyways?” Geoff mumbled, stretching his back tiredly before flinging himself down on one of the several couches they had dragged in earlier that morning. Did they need three couches? Probably not. But they sure as hell had them. Fortunately, it did help fill out the spacious place. There were six of them; they needed a lot of room.

“It’s to fill the holes in our hearts, Geoff,” Ray says in that bubbly tone that, in itself, may be sarcastic.

“God help me, if I had that many holes in my heart to fill,” is the bland reply.

“Godammit Gavin!” Michael’s shouting from upstairs is punctuated by a loud thump and Ryan cursing. Ray and Jack glance toward the sound, but neither seem too intent on moving. Geoff doesn’t even bother that much.

“Five bucks says one of us is going to kill someone by the end of the month,” Geoff says.

“Ten bucks says it’s Gavin,” Jack adds on.

“I’m in,” Ray agrees. “Do you know how many double cheeseburgers that buys.”

“Dude, you know you can eat real food now, right?” Geoff tells him.

“Why would I want to do that Geoff?”

Gavin comes running down the stairs and seconds later, Michael follows him. They clash on the floor just before the door, the two of them hitting the ground hard and immediately breaking out in a fit of struggling and Gavin’s laughing.

“Micoo! Micoo wait!”

Ryan slinks down the stairs not much long after, holding his head in one hand. He sits down slowly on the couch beside Geoff, cringing his headache away. When he pulls his hand away, the spot is a little red, but it’s just a small bump. Nothing to be concerned about.

“Is the bed going to be done soon?” Geoff questions. A regular old king sized mattress was not going to cut it here and unfortunately, he had done the dumb thing of believe Ryan when he said ‘I can put it together’. After a long day and moving, the only thing he wanted to do was have a drink and sleep on a nice new bed.

“Define soon,” Gavin says from the floor, Michael obviously having run out of breathe before doing any real damage. Not that he really would, fairly.

“Sometime today, assholes,” Geoff sighs aggravatedly.

“It’s almost done, Geoff,” Ryan promises, leaning over a bit to kiss him. “If someone would stop messing around,” he adds on, staring at Gavin pointedly. In reply, Gavin only shrugs exaggeratedly.

“I think it’s time for a break,” Jack informs. “How bout lunch?”

“How about smile!” The flash that fills the room startled everyone. Lindsey smiles down at her phone gladly. “That’s going on Twitter.”

“If you post that on Twitter you are so fired,” Geoff says swiftly. Lindsey shakes her mobile a little.

“I guess all that pizza Michael asked me to bring will just go to waste then.”

“You’re rehired!” Gavin yelps gladly. “I’m bloody starvin’.”

“I also brought beer,” Lindsey promises.

“I knew there was a reason I didn’t fire you.”

Because there's no guarantee by birth. You never really know if you’ll find your soulmate let alone if they’ll love you like you love them. There’s no absolutes and people without soulmarks, like Griffon, and people with platonic marks, like Michael and Lindsay, can still fall in love. Regardless, falling in love means a belief in something you can’t touch and trusting it because there are no coincidences.

Usually.

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